


a rose by any other

by luckycalico



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28138122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckycalico/pseuds/luckycalico
Summary: The woods, Naruto found, were surprisingly beautiful considering they were cursed.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Kudos: 51





	a rose by any other

**Author's Note:**

> Little story. Short and sweet. Thank you for reading if you do, I hope you enjoy it!

The woods, Naruto found, were surprisingly beautiful considering they were cursed.

“Be warned, traveller,” they said. “Stay on the path. carry a silver knife.” 

Sunlight streamed through the canopy, creating dappled patterns on the soft ground. The air was sweet and warm, filled with honeysuckle and distant gentle birdsongs. Fallen leaves and moss softened his footsteps. 

The villagers on the edge of the wood had seemed distressed that Naruto planned to cross by himself. Before he set out, they gave him a long list of instructions and warnings, pretty much scaring him shitless. But, where he had expected dark, twisted vines and monsters and general creepiness, the woods became more lush and rich the deeper he went. Every bend in the path unveiled an even more breathtaking scene. 

It was mid afternoon when Naruto came upon the stream. Crystal clear, and carving a scar right through the middle of the trail. The water slid over colorful stones, about knee deep and 5 paces wide. Upstream, there was a rocky outcropping the stream fell over, creating a little waterfall that murmured pleasantly.

To follow the path, he would have to wade through the shallow water. Naruto didn’t particularly fancy his shoes being soggy for the remainder of his trip. 

The waterfall had a number of rocks the stream was tumbling around, untouched. It was almost perfect stepping stones to the other side. 

Naruto glanced around. He would only be off the trail for a few moments. The wood crackled gently around him, the same serene and unsettling allure it had been since he set off. 

He took one step off the path and held his breath. He didn’t spontaneously combust. No monsters jumped out to attack him. No trees came to life and strangled him with vines. 

He took another step, and another. Still, nothing changed. He made it to the small waterfall and began to hop on the smooth stones across, taking care not to slip on their wet, slick surface. 

When his feet touched down on the other bank, he grinned. That was kind of fun, and he didn’t get wet! 

“Traveller.” A voice said behind him. 

Naruto gasped and spun around. There was a man sitting on one of the dry rocks on the side of the waterfall. The first thing Naruto noticed about him were his strange clothes. They must have been some type of gossamer or silk material, because they seemed to sparkle and flow like the water. The indiscernible color almost blending into the stream around him. The second was that he was strikingly beautiful. 

“Shit, you scared me!” Naruto exclaimed. “What are you doing, sneaking up on people like that?”

The man stared at him. His eyes were dark, darker than Naruto had ever seen. Almost out of place set in the other fine features of his face. “You left the path.”

Naruto looked around. “Uh... Yeah. So did you though!”

He tilted his head. “What is your name, traveller?”

“I’m Uzumaki Naruto!” Naruto said, pointing to himself. “What's yours?”

“You-” The man stopped short. His mouth fell open. “Wait. you actually did it!” 

“Huh? Did What?” Naruto asked.

“Are you an idiot?” The man looked shocked. 

“NO?! Why would you ask that?” Granted, it wasn’t the first time Naruto had been asked that question but it usually didn’t happen within the first few minutes of meeting someone.

“You just gave me your name when I asked. Like, right away. Didn’t the villagers warn you not to ever give your name to one of the fair folk?” 

Naruto stared at him for a few seconds. “Wait. You’re a faerie?” 

The man looked at him incredulously. “Obviously.”

“But you don’t have long hair.”

“That's not- You- Whatever! Uzumaki Naruto, I have your true name, thus, I have you. You are now under my thrall.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Naruto looked around again. He didn’t really know what to do. He had never been under someone's thrall before. “Okay, I guess.”

The man frowned. You’re not upset?”

Naruto shrugged. “I mean what's done is done. My bad… Heh. ” He shifted around awkwardly. “So uh… what now?”

“You have to do whatever I say now.”

“Okay.”

Silence lapsed between them again. The waterfall continued to cheerfully babble. The faerie crossed his arms and uncrossed them. Gone was his graceful, aloof demeanor from before, now he seemed agitated and unsure.

Naruto waited for him to say something. He didn’t. “Can I leave?” Naruto asked.

“No!” The faerie pursed his lips together. “Give me your cloak.”

Naruto looked down at his old cloak, worn and dirty from weeks of traveling, to the faerie’s otherworldly swirling outfit. “You actually want this?” 

The faerie opened his mouth and closed it. He looked at Naruto again. “No, Nevermind. Keep that. It’s ugly.”

“Hey!” Naruto shouted indignantly. “If you can’t think of anything for me to do, I’m leaving!”

“You can’t! I have your name!”

“You don’t even know what to do with it!”

“Well no one has ever been stupid enough to just give it to me before!”

They glared at each other. The faerie had stood up from where he was perched on the rock. 

“I’m not stupid,” Naruto said. “It’s polite to tell someone your name when you meet them. Everyone does it.”

“Hm. No they don’t,” the faerie said. “You’re the first person who’s ever given me their name.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. “Really? I thought faeries usually tricked people into telling them.” 

The faerie’s eyebrows furrowed and he frowned. “I’m… not very talented at deception. My brother says I’m too blunt.” 

_ A faerie who’s bad at tricks _ , Naruto thought.  _ I guess I’m a traveler who’s bad at traveling. Can’t even make it through one cursed wood without getting my name stolen. Figures. _

“Look,” Naruto said. “If you're not gonna do anything with my name, can I have it back?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. It’s not a tangible thing that I can give back to you. I know it, so I have it.”

“Oh.” Naruto said glumly. He sat down on the warm rocks and stared at the stream. “I guess that means I’m stuck here forever, huh.” As much as he found the woods beautiful, he would really miss traveling. 

“Was there somewhere you were going?”

Naruto sighed. “Anywhere, everywhere. I love going places, meeting new people, trying new foods, seeing new things… ya know?”

“No. I’ve never left this wood.”

“Oh… well it's awesome! There's so many amazing places in the world. One time I went to the ocean, and saw the sunset! It was crazy. Or this other time when I went to the city and met my friend Sakura and we tried to go to every bar in one night. Lots of good food too, yum. Like ramen. I guess you wouldn’t have it in the woods, but it's this type of-” 

“Uchiha Sasuke.” The faerie interrupted him. 

Naruto looked up. “What?” 

“That is my true name,” the faerie said. “I know what I want now. You have my name, so take me with you traveling.”

“...We don’t have to stay here?”

“No. I cannot give you back your name, but now you also cannot give me back mine. We are bound together equally.”

A slow smile crept across Naruto’s face. “Okay, Sasuke.”

The two set off together. They didn’t follow the path, but the cursed wood didn’t seem so cursed anymore. And wherever they went, they would always have each other. 


End file.
